In Australia, the focus on ESG factors which stands for Environmental, Social and Governance, is receiving considerable attention from investors, regulators and the public. As With Australia; most discussions that revolve around ESG focuses primarily on the environment; however, a critical yet understated area, Work Health and Safety (WHS) is not receiving the attention it deserves.
WHS has typically been viewed as an isolated function; treated as a pure compliance exercise and siloed from the broader sustainability agenda. Some of Australia’s leading ESG consultants recognize the shift for credible WHS programs integrated not as a footnote, but as a core principle of social responsibility and risk governance.
The shift from climate focus to people-focused is imperative.
In Australia, it is now imperative to report on ESG factors. The recently introduced mandatory climate disclosure policy as well as increasing stakeholder activism has seen corporations scramble to align with sustainability frameworks such as the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD), Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), and ASX Corporate Governance Principles.
However, these frameworks do not operate independently. The ‘S’ in ESG, or social issues, requires the consideration of the health, safety, and wellbeing of the workforce, contractors, and the surrounding communities. This is where works health and safety (WHS) becomes relevant, especially within Australia where WHS laws provide strong frameworks regarding duty of care, consultation, and continuous improvement.
For ESG consultants, not evaluating WHS performance as a social metric WHS performance as a social metric is strategy WHS performance as a social metric is strategy.
From Incident Rates to Impact Metrics: Rethinking WHS in ESG Context
Traditional WHS reporting relies on lagging indicators, including injury frequency rates, lost time incidents, and compliance audits. However, WHS frameworks push organisations to shift focus and move away from reactive metrics to and instead prioritize creating impact and value.
Progressive ESG consultants are now:
Linking WHS to employee wellbeing, retention, and productivity.
Positioning mental health programs as core ESG deliverables.
Advocating for the open reporting of near-miss incidents and proactive safety culture indicators.
This signals a shift: from compliance box ticking to communicating meaningful progress that stakeholders, including investors, can understand and value.
Climate Risk is WHS Risk – And ESG Must Address Both
In Australia, one of the most exposed nations to climate risk, environmental risks intertwine with occupational risks. Consider the following:
– Work health and safety (WHS) issues in construction, agriculture, mining, and outdoor work are exacerbated by heatwaves.
– The logistics, warehousing, and transport sectors are impacted by bushfires, as well as the deterioration in air quality.
– Extreme weather and floods not only disrupt supply chains, but they can also isolate workers and expose them to hazardous conditions.
WHS consultants are not the only professionals worried about these issues anymore. ESG consultants also need to revise their strategies. If WHS exposure is ignored in climate adaptation strategies, the plan is illogical and incomplete. Whitewashing WHS planning and climate risk is negligence.
Care professionals have outlined the boundaries between WHS and ESG. ESG and WHS consultants can collaborate on ‘Supply Chain Due Diligence.’ Modern slavery, contractor safety, and ethical sourcing are issues at the intersection of ESG and WHS. Complying with Australia’s Modern Slavery Act and global reporting standards is forcing corporations to evaluate not only their suppliers’ carbon footprint, but how they are treating their workers as well.
Collaboration between the ESG and WHS consultants is needed, in this case, to:
Create WHS control assessment systems for supplier prequalification.
Integrate WHS requirements into procurement processes and into the ESG risk register.
Monitor subcontractor performance in high-risk sectors such as construction, cleaning, and logistics.
These collaborations improve governance in the supply chain, meeting the heightened expectations of institutional investors and regulators.
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Cultural Intelligence: The Missing Link in ESG-WHS Integration
Besides the policies and frameworks, the toughest issue in aligning ESG and WHS is organizational culture. Many Australian businesses seem to consider ESG as a communications exercise, and WHS as a compliance function, leading to a disconnection between values and actions.
There is no escaping the realities of ‘boots on the ground’ for ESG consultants. They need to comprehend safety culture, how workers’ voices inform ESG metrics, and the reasons behind the tokenism of wellbeing programs and the resulting loss of organizational credibility. WHS consultants, on the other hand, need to step out of the compliance realm and meaningfully participate in the development of purpose-based, values-based reports.
Only then will ESG reports meaningfully portray employees’ experiences and will not be dismissed as superficial.
The Evolving Function of ESG Consultants in Australia
In this case, ESG consultants must revise their toolkit in order to remain both relevant and impactful by:
Gaining knowledge on Safe Work Australia regulations and their influence on social risk.
Engaging WHS consultants to evaluate the organizational culture and risk management frameworks.
Use WHS metrics as leading or predictive indicators for broader ESG performance and WHS excellence as a brand asset and ESG differentiator.
In this converging landscape, ESG and WHS are no longer separate conversations. They are strands of the same cloth that Australian businesses must weave into the fabric of their strategy, operations, and reporting.
Conclusion: WHS Compliance Issues Undermine ESG Initiatives
In the ESG era, WHS is no longer the concern of a siloed safety team — it is a reputational and strategic concern. ESG consultants who disregard health and safety issues as secondary concerns will create frameworks that are, at best, superficially deep. Those who embrace the WHS perspective will, however, reinvent ESG consulting, and that will truly be a healthy evolution.
To consultants in Australia, the message is clear: if you want to shape ESG decisions, make sure to understand WHS. And if you want your ESG advice to count, integrate it where risk intersects with reality — in the workplace.
